The Man to Beat: Alberto Contador

26, Spain (Astana)

Hard feelings and petty politics between Tour organizers, the UCI (cycling's governing body), and Astana kept the team out of last year's Tour. That meant Contador was unable to defend his 2007 victory. Instead he entered and won both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, making him only the fifth rider in history to have won all three grand tours. At just 26, he still has his best years ahead of him.

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